Download or read book Three Funerals for My Father written by Jolie P. Hoang and published by . This book was released on 2022-03 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jolie Hoang grew up as one of ten children, part of a loving, prosperous Vietnamese family. All that changed when the communists took over in 1975; the family was harassed and lived in constant fear of being sent to the dreaded new economic zone. Desperate to ensure the family's safety and to provide a future for his children, Jolie's father arranged three separate escapes. The first was a failure that cost most of their fortune, but the second was successful -- six of his children reached Indonesia and ultimately settled in Canada. The father and his youngest daughter drowned during the disastrous third attempt. Alternately told from the author's perspective and that of her father's ghost, Three Funerals for My Father is a poignant story of love, grief and resilience that spans two continents and fifty years. It serves as both an intimate story of one family, and a testament to the collective experience of hundreds of thousands of boat people and millions of refugees.

Download or read book My Father s Wake written by Kevin Toolis and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2018-02-27 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intimate, lyrical look at the ancient rite of the Irish wake--and the Irish way of overcoming our fear of death Death is a whisper for most of us. Instinctively we feel we should dim the lights, pull the curtains, and speak softly. But on a remote island off the coast of Ireland's County Mayo, death has a louder voice. Each day, along with reports of incoming Atlantic storms, the local radio runs a daily roll call of the recently departed. The islanders go in great numbers, young and old alike, to be with their dead. They keep vigil with the corpse and the bereaved company through the long hours of the night. They dig the grave with their own hands and carry the coffin on their own shoulders. The islanders cherish the dead--and amid the sorrow, they celebrate life, too. In My Father's Wake, acclaimed author and award-winning filmmaker Kevin Toolis unforgettably describes his own father's wake and explores the wider history and significance of this ancient and eternal Irish ritual. Perhaps we, too, can all find a better way to deal with our mortality -- by living and loving as the Irish do.

Download or read book Notes on Grief written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the globally acclaimed, best-selling novelist and author of We Should All Be Feminists, a timely and deeply personal account of the loss of her father: “With raw eloquence, Notes on Grief … captures the bewildering messiness of loss in a society that requires serenity, when you’d rather just scream. Grief is impolite ... Adichie’s words put welcome, authentic voice to this most universal of emotions, which is also one of the most universally avoided” (The Washington Post). Notes on Grief is an exquisite work of meditation, remembrance, and hope, written in the wake of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's beloved father’s death in the summer of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world, and kept Adichie and her family members separated from one another, her father succumbed unexpectedly to complications of kidney failure. Expanding on her original New Yorker piece, Adichie shares how this loss shook her to her core. She writes about being one of the millions of people grieving this year; about the familial and cultural dimensions of grief and also about the loneliness and anger that are unavoidable in it. With signature precision of language, and glittering, devastating detail on the page—and never without touches of rich, honest humor—Adichie weaves together her own experience of her father’s death with threads of his life story, from his remarkable survival during the Biafran war, through a long career as a statistics professor, into the days of the pandemic in which he’d stay connected with his children and grandchildren over video chat from the family home in Abba, Nigeria. In the compact format of We Should All Be Feminists and Dear Ijeawele, Adichie delivers a gem of a book—a book that fundamentally connects us to one another as it probes one of the most universal human experiences. Notes on Grief is a book for this moment—a work readers will treasure and share now more than ever—and yet will prove durable and timeless, an indispensable addition to Adichie's canon.

Download or read book Anchorless written by Jolie P. Hoang and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IN 1985, A MAN BOARDED A BOAT with his wife and three youngest children. He was hoping to follow his six older children in escaping a Vietnam he no longer recognized. His six older children had already fled to freedom, and it was time to join them in what would surely be a better life. A perilous ocean lay between him and a reunion with the rest of his family―between all of them and freedom―but it wasn’t meant to be. Along with his youngest daughter, the man drowned when the ship went down. God wanted to take his soul, but he begged God to let him remain between life and death, unable to bear leaving his bereaved family. He wanted his soul to drift among his surviving wife and children to continue to love and to protect them. God granted his wish. This is his story.

Download or read book The Third Gift written by Linda Sue Park and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2011-12-15 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From two extraordinary talents, a beautifully crafted picture book for the Christmas season. The three wise men, or the three kings, are familiar figures in the Christmas tradition. Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park has taken the brief biblical references to the three as the starting point for a new story. In it we meet a boy who is learning his father’s trade; a man who gathers resin from certain trees; a merchant in the marketplace; and three strangers in brightly colored robes who are shopping for a gift for a baby. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline with exquisite paintings, this simple, moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event brings new resonance to the well-known gift list of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Download or read book Three Funerals and a Wedding written by John Thorp and published by . This book was released on 2018-06-21 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Closing Time written by Joe Queenan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-04-16 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An affecting memoir from one of America's most provocative humorists Over the past two decades, Joe Queenan has established himself as a scourge of everything that is half-baked, half-witted, and halfhearted in American culture. In Closing Time, Queenan turns his sights on a more serious and a more personal topic: his childhood in a Philadelphia housing project in the early 1960s. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Closing Time recounts Queenan's Irish Catholic upbringing in a family dominated by his erratic, alcoholic father, and his long flight away from the dismal confines of his neighborhood into the greater, wide world. A story about salvation and escape, Closing Time has at its heart the makings of a classic American autobiography.

Download or read book What Happened to Daddy s Body written by Elke Barber and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This book was released on 2016-07-21 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My daddy died when I was (one...two...) three years old. Today we are out in the garden. It always makes me think about my daddy because he LOVED his garden. Sometimes, I wonder what happened to my daddy's body... This picture book aims to help children aged 3+ to understand what happens to the body after someone has died. Through telling the true story of what happened to his daddy's body, we follow Alex as he learns about cremation, burial and spreading ashes. Full of questions written in Alex's own words, and with the gentle, sensitive and honest answers of his mother, this story will reassure any young child who might be confused about death and what happens afterwards. It also reiterates the message that when you have experienced the loss of a loved one, it is okay to be sad, but it is okay to be happy, too.

Download or read book Reimagining Death written by Lucinda Herring and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Honor your loved ones and the earth by choosing practical, spiritual, and eco-friendly after-death care Natural, legal, and innovative after-death care options are transforming the paradigm of the existing funeral industry, helping families and communities recover their instinctive capacity to care for a loved one after death and do so in creative and healing ways. Reimagining Death offers stories and guidance for home funeral vigils, advance after-death care directives, green burials, and conscious dying. When we bring art and beauty, meaningful ritual, and joy to ease our loss and sorrow, we are greening the gateway of death and returning home to ourselves, to the wisdom of our bodies, and to the earth.

Download or read book Modern Loss written by Rebecca Soffer and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-01-23 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inspired by the website that the New York Times hailed as "redefining mourning," this book is a fresh and irreverent examination into navigating grief and resilience in the age of social media, offering comfort and community for coping with the mess of loss through candid original essays from a variety of voices, accompanied by gorgeous two-color illustrations and wry infographics. At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it’s clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let’s face it: most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We’re awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit. Enter Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner, who can help us do better. Each having lost parents as young adults, they co-founded Modern Loss, responding to a need to change the dialogue around the messy experience of grief. Now, in this wise and often funny book, they offer the insights of the Modern Loss community to help us cry, laugh, grieve, identify, and—above all—empathize. Soffer and Birkner, along with forty guest contributors including Lucy Kalanithi, singer Amanda Palmer, and CNN’s Brian Stelter, reveal their own stories on a wide range of topics including triggers, sex, secrets, and inheritance. Accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and witty "how to" cartoons, each contribution provides a unique perspective on loss as well as a remarkable life-affirming message. Brutally honest and inspiring, Modern Loss invites us to talk intimately and humorously about grief, helping us confront the humanity (and mortality) we all share. Beginners welcome.

Download or read book My Mother My Father written by Susan Wyndham and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2013 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some of Australia's best known writers share their wise and searingly honest experiences of losing a parent.

Download or read book Funerals for Horses written by Catherine Ryan Hyde and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of a woman who discovers her inner strength. She is Ellen Ginsberg of Arizona who always considered her brother the bedrock of their turbulent family. One day he disappears in the desert, leaving behind his clothes. As she searches for him in the broiling sun, she reflects on their life and realizes she, not he was the strong one.

Download or read book Good Mourning written by Elizabeth Meyer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elizabeth Meyer’s “sweet, touching, and funny” (Booklist) memoir reads as if “Carrie Bradshaw worked in a funeral home a la Six Feet Under” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Good Mourning offers a behind-the-scenes look at a legendary funeral chapel on New York City’s Upper East Side—mixing big money, society drama, and the universal experience of grieving—told from the unique perspective of a fashionista turned funeral planner. Elizabeth Meyer stumbled upon a career in the midst of planning her own father’s funeral, which she turned into an upbeat party with Rolling Stones music, thousands of dollars worth of her mother’s favorite flowers, and a personalized eulogy. Starting as a receptionist, Meyer quickly found she had a knack for helping people cope with their grief, as well as creating fitting send-offs for some of the city’s most high-powered residents. Meyer has seen it all: two women who found out their deceased husband (yes, singular) was living a double life, a famous corpse with a missing brain, and funerals that cost more than most weddings. By turns illuminating, emotional, and darkly humorous, Good Mourning is a lesson in how the human heart grieves and grows—whether you’re wearing this season’s couture or drug-store flip-flops.

Download or read book Funeral for a Stranger written by Becca Stevens and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I have seen water move rocks. I have seen thistles break through boulders. If water and flowers can move stones, surely love can. Becca Stevens, from Funeral for a Stranger In this meditation on living and dying, Becca Stevens shares moving and hilarious stories about her life, love, friends, and our many families. This delicately formed narrative is also a window into the soul of a priest. I loved it and will hold it in my heart with gratitude for years to come. -Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why Loneliness finds connections, depair meets celebration, and fear discovers faith. Join Becca on her journey to a funeral for a stranger. God will be there. -Don Schlitz, Hall of Fame songwriter of The Gambler With elegant simplicity Becca Stevens escorts the reader to the banks of the deepest spiritual wellspring. Surely she ranks among our most gifted teachers on the things that matter most of all. -Stephen Bauman, author of Simple Truths: On Values, Civility, and Our Common Good

Download or read book Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding written by Rhys Bowen and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the days leading up to her wedding to Darcy O'Mara, Lady Georgiana Rannoch takes on the responsibilities of a grand estate, but proving she can run a household just may be the death of her in the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service. If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife... House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globetrotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be! With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot--and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle...

Download or read book Death a Love Project written by Annie Bolitho and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Death, a love project is a guide about life and death for those who already understand the importance of end-of-life arrangements, and those with little experience who might wonder about that time. It engages with the complexity and richness of understandings and feelings that commonly arise, as well as the practical demands around dying and death. It is not unusual to feel nervous about death and see it as an unwelcome time of crisis, but many people experience it as a time of wonder and transformation. Stories of innovation and change around death and end-of-life rituals now appear frequently in the media, highlighting that the more you know, the more options there are for how to 'do death'. This is a great primer on death literacy, highlighting the importance of taking your time, and topics such as personal values and preferences, rituals, creativity, affordability and environmental sustainability. The book is based on Annie's long experience as a facilitator of arrangements and rituals, a celebrant and educator. It aims to help those who are thinking ahead about their own later life, as well as those who are confronted with a death. Death, a love project is a short, readable, and essential reference for people of all ages, including baby boomers who aren't ready to cross the threshold of a funeral company. Ever since the Egyptians put honey into their tombs there have been rituals to help us with the awesome mystery of death. This little book conveys what we can do as families and communities to have good rituals today.Cedar Anderson, CEO Flow HiveDeath: a love project will help Australians looking for unique and empowering ways to celebrate the legacy of life. Annie Bolitho's book takes the reader on an inspiring journey of caring for each other in community ¿ right up to the last breath.Jessie Williams CEO, The Groundswell Project.

Download or read book The Funeral Director s Son written by Coleen Murtagh Paratore and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-08-05 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This family business is for life... In the small town of Clover, when you die, you are put to rest by Campbell and Sons Funeral Home. Unfortunately twelve-year-old Kip Campbell happens to be the only "son" in that title. And that's a problem for him since the funeral home business is the last thing he wants to inherit, even if he has a "gift" for it. See, it just so happens that Kip can talk to the dead. Well, they talk to him, really. They tell him what they need in order to move on to the great beyond. Kip wants to move too. Straight out of Clover. He's about to give notice -- he's done helping the dead -- when he's offered a surprising deal: Find out the secret that is holding back old Billy Blye, and Kip will receive his weight in gold. That would be enough to take him far away from Clover, and Campbell and Sons Funeral Home.